Biography

From local newspaper:1938 - "Valma Brown, 48, a NYC Railroad telegrapher for more than 30 years, committed suicide Nov. 22 by hanging himself in the cellarway of his residence. On the door which hid the body, a note said, "Don't open the door - get the police." Berniece Benner, his housekeeper, discovered the body and notified authorities. He was divorced from his wife and had become despondant over a heart ailment which had kept him from work for the past six weeks. He is survived by his three children, Ruth, Mona Jean, & Robert, who reside in Goshen, Indiana and a sister, Mrs. Glen Callender of Edgerton, Ohio. Burial at Hamilton, Indiana Cemetery Dec 1938."Val was a telegraph operator for the NY Central Railroad.

Sources

• * Source Citation: Year: 1900; Census Place: Wilmington, De Kalb, Indiana; Roll: 367; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 0068; FHL microfilm: 1240367.

Source Information:Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. T623, 1854 rolls.

• Source Citation: Year: 1910; Census Place: Wilmington, De Kalb, Indiana; Roll: T624_345; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 0092; FHL microfilm: 1374358.

Source Information:Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.Original data: Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910 (NARA microfilm publication T624, 1,178 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. For details on the contents of the film numbers, visit the following NARA web page: NARA

• Source Citation: Year: 1920; Census Place: Waterloo, De Kalb, Indiana; Roll: T625_430; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 96; Image: 696.

Source Information:Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.Original data: Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920. (NARA microfilm publication T625, 2076 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. For details on the contents of the film numbers, visit the following NARA web page: NARA. Note: Enumeration Districts 819-839 are on roll 323 (Chicago City).

• Source Citation: Year: 1930; Census Place: Goshen, Elkhart, Indiana; Roll: 585; Page: 18B; Enumeration District: 0027; Image: 190.0; FHL microfilm: 2340320.

Source Information:Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002.Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626, 2,667 rolls.

• Source Citation: Registration State: Indiana; Registration County: De Kalb; Roll: 1493139.

Source Information:Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.Original data: United States, Selective Service System. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. M1509, 4,582 rolls. Imaged from Family History Library microfilm.

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